Tax Refund Delay 2022: Don't Expect Payments Within 3 Weeks, Here's How to Track Your Money

The head of the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warned the country on Monday of a potentially "frustrating" experience for taxpayers as the 2022 tax filing season officially began and could involve refund delays.

In a conference call with reporters, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that this season could be a rather frustrating season for all American taxpayers and tax professionals. The official warned that the situation is brought by years of underfunding and personnel cutbacks at the agency.

IRS Tax Return Delays

Rettig added that a mountain of tax returns that were still leftover from previous years stalled efforts to get refund payments out within the traditional three-week window. He said that every person working at the IRS was prioritizing the current situation. The commissioner added that every IRS personnel understood the importance of bringing the payments to the people.

Another thing that was complicating the situation within the agency was staffing shortages due to the coronavirus pandemic. The health crisis has imposed an additional workload on many areas of the agency, including a series of pandemic-related stimulus checks, UPI reported.

The agency began accepting returns for 2021 taxes on Monday and has set a filing deadline of Apr. 18 for the majority of United States citizens. On the other hand, residents from Maine and Massachusetts have an Apr. 19 deadline to file their taxes due to the observance of Patriots' Day on the national tax-filing deadline. Taxpayers who were requesting an extension will have until Oct. 17 to file their tax returns.

Rettig added that on top of the staff shortages and increased workload, the IRS was struggling against outdated technology. The agency was previously responsible for distributing the third round of stimulus checks to American citizens, the advance child tax credit payments, and earned income tax credits.

All of these financial distributions were enacted through United States President Joe Biden's massive $1.9 trillion March stimulus bill. Many American taxpayers were also flooding the agency with questions regarding federal unemployment aid or child tax credit payments, The Hill reported.

Plethora of Struggles

The IRS commissioner said the agency's employees will be struggling to handle a higher volume of calls and questions while they were forced to telework and deal with COVID-19-related absences. The official said that there were more than 10 million calls made by taxpayers last year alone.

While taxpayers don't have much power to help the IRS solve its problems or avoid delays, there are things that citizens can do to help mitigate the problem. Some of the key things to note are jotting down important dates to remember for filing your tax returns, the best tax software you can use to calculate the amount, and how you could qualify for filing your taxes for free.

Furthermore, setting up an ID.me account with the IRS online is one way to get verified quickly when processing your tax returns. The IRS originally used this kind of verification for its child tax credit tools but has expanded it to include making and scheduling payments, monitoring stimulus payments, and managing authorization requests from tax professionals, CNET reported.

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IRS, Internal Revenue Service, Tax return, Delays, Avoid